Oct. Truck Sales Up 15.6% for 2nd Monthly Increase

This story appears in the Nov. 18 print edition of Transport Topics.

U.S. Class 8 truck sales grew in October for the second consecutive month following 12 monthly declines, WardsAuto.com reported.

Last month’s sales total of 17,985 was the highest this year and climbed 15.6% above October 2012’s results. The figure was also 11.5% higher than the 16,125 trucks sold in September.

Also last month, sales of Classes 4-7 trucks climbed to 15,832, the largest monthly tally in more than five years.

Truck makers and dealers said high replacement demand and growing confidence in the U.S. economy were the main drivers of the sales growth.

“The age of the existing fleet remains at a historically high level, providing an underlying, ongoing impetus to new truck sales,” said John Walsh, vice president of marketing for Mack Trucks. “It’s not unusual for the industry to experience an uptick in sales toward the end of the year.”

Bill Kozek, president of Navistar International Corp.’s North American truck and parts business, said the industry remains “cautiously optimistic,” with most of the activity representing replacement purchases.

Daimler Trucks North America reiterated its comments from a week earlier, when the company said it sees current economic factors supporting a “healthy” truck business.

Other truck makers did not respond to requests for comment before Transport Topics’ deadline.

Dick Witcher, chairman of American Truck Dealers, said truck buyers are slowly regaining economic confidence.

“I think there’s a general sense that the economy is going to improve as we go into 2014,” he said. “Everyone’s been holding their breath for a very long time.”

Witcher, who is CEO of Minuteman Trucks, an International dealer in Walpole, Mass., said he also expects to see some improvement in sales next year.

“My vocational customers are coming back to market, and we have one of the strongest backlogs that we’re had in the last several years,” he said.

Lawrence De Maria, an analyst at William Blair & Co., told TT that October’s totals for sales and orders were “better than expectations, especially given the political and economic distractions.”

Earlier this month, ACT Research reported preliminary Class 8 orders of 26,300 in October for North America. That was the largest monthly total for truck orders since December 2011.

Despite October’s gain, cumulative Class 8 sales for 2013 continue to trail last year’s level. Through 10 months, total sales stand at 150,578, down 7.2% from the same timeframe in 2012.

Last month, however, all heavy-duty truck brands posted higher year-over-year sales.

DTNA sold 6,329 of its Freightliner trucks in October, up 11.6% from the same month last year. Freightliner’s sales represented 35.2% of the Class 8 market, up from 33.8% in September. The brand’s cumulative 2013 sales stand at 55,822 units, up 5% year-over-year.

Navistar’s sales of its International trucks increased 14.6% to 3,160 last month and its Class 8 market share for October was 17.6%, the company’s best showing in 12 months. However, Navistar’s 2013 sales total of 22,486 still was down 25.5% from 2012.

“Through our sales momentum initiatives, we are converting effort into sales at a growing rate,” Kozek said. “While we thought we would see certain deals completed in October, we will see those soon. October orders were also strong, which we believe is an indication that sales will continue to strengthen in the months ahead.”

Paccar Inc.’s two North American operating companies — Peterbilt Motors Co. and Kenworth Truck Co. — posted higher sales figures as well.

Peterbilt’s sales jumped 26% to 2,498 in October. Year-to-date, the company has sold 19,997 trucks, down 11.4% from last year.

Kenworth sold 2,309 Class 8 trucks last month, up 15.3% year-over-year. Kenworth’s cumulative 2013 sales have declined 8.5%, to 20,822.

Sales at Volvo Trucks, meanwhile, rose 10.6% to 1,895 in October. For 2013 to date, Volvo’s sales have slipped 5.1%, to 16,201.

Mack Trucks, which also is part of the Volvo Group, posted the industry’s biggest year-over-year percentage gain in October, with sales jumping 28.4% to 1,525. Even so, Mack’s year-to-date sales of 12,723 were still down 10.8% from a year ago.

DTNA’s Western Star brand sold 262 trucks last month, an 8.3% gain from a year ago. The brand’s year-to-date sales of 2,487 are up 15.8% from 2012.